South African prosecutors allege Russia financed an attempt by influencer and “anti-colonial activist” Kémi Séba to flee the country, according to a report by Bloomberg. Séba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, is wanted by Benin in connection with an attempted coup in that country in December. Benin has filed an extradition request with South Africa.
According to court documents reviewed by Bloomberg, Séba — who was born in France and previously led a Black nationalist movement there — is linked to Francois van der Merwe, the leader of the South African white nationalist movement Bittereinders. Prosecutors say both men have ties to Russia.
Séba, his son, and van der Merwe were all arrested in Pretoria in April. Prosecutors say they had planned to illegally cross the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe and that Séba had hired guards to help him escape. The guards, however, turned out to be undercover police officers. Authorities seized more than 300,000 South African rand (about $18,500) during the arrest.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, van der Merwe received money from Moscow to “to assist with the safe escorting and transfer of Mr. Capo Chichi from South Africa to Zimbabwe.” From there, Séba was allegedly to have traveled to Europe to carry out terrorist attacks there and in the UK. “The information also mentioned that the person is trained by the Russians and is extremely dangerous,” the documents said.
Séba is also suspected of taking part in Russian-backed anti-Western propaganda campaigns in Africa, according to Bloomberg. Benin issued an arrest warrant for Séba after he supported the idea of a mutiny on social media. He has also been charged with money laundering and terrorism.
Séba is known as an activist in the anti-French movement in West Africa. In 2017, he was arrested in Senegal and deported. In 2024, he was stripped of his French citizenship amid accusations that he had incited violence against the state. In 2022, the U.S. State Department accused Séba of links to the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary organization co-founded by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Bittereinders white nationalist movement also has ties to Russia. Last year, its leader van der Merwe attended a meeting of right-wing organizations in St. Petersburg, alongside Germany’s AfD.
